Bart Scott delivered a verbal jab in typical Bart Scott fashion, ripping naysayers, calling out doubters and educating the uneducated after the Jets defense came alive at the exact right moments to propel them to 24-17 win over the Tennessee Titans Sunday.

“For anybody out there that thinks this is a gimmick defense and this is not a defense that can play smash mouth, how dare you?” said Scott, who had a team-high nine tackles. “This team is built on tough, gritty players that can adjust to any style of football.”

The Jets defense showed some cracks in its armor, giving up a touchdown for the first time this season. At times, it looked vulnerable. But Scott & Co. made plays when it mattered most.

For a defense that led the league in fewest yards allowed, this unit still felt it had something to prove. Sure, the Jets had shut down a pair of high-powered passing teams in the first two weeks, but some believed it couldn’t slow down the Titans’ 1-2 rushing attack of Chris Johnson and LenDale White.

“We tend to get sold short because we’re the green team in New York,” nose tackle Kris Jenkins said. “Let’s be honest. We have something that we’re trying to prove to ourselves. The message we’re trying to make is that we don’t care what anybody says about us.”

The Titans sleepwalked through the first half before scoring 17 consecutive points to take their first lead a few minutes into the third quarter. Titans quarterback Kerry Collins, who had just 11 yards through the air in the first quarter, completed 10 of 15 passes for 98 yards in the second quarter. Then, Collins capped Tennessee’s first drive of the second half with a 9-yard TD strike to Nate Washington to give the Titans a 17-14 lead.

Rex Ryan, who opted not to blitz much in the first half, adjusted.

“We were trying to mix things on them, mix coverages,” said Ryan, whose club held the Titans to 4-for-14 (29 percent) on third downs. “We never wanted him to get too comfortable back there. I knew they would go into the game expecting all kinds of pressure. So I actually tried to play a lot of coverage early. When he got too comfortable back there, we had to heat him up again. And that’s exactly what we did.”

Collins — who was 15-for-37 for 170 yards, 1 TD and two interceptions — disappeared after the Titans’ opening drive of the third quarter. The Jets forced the veteran to make poor decisions and mistakes the rest of the way. Collins was 3-for-17 for 63 yards in the second half. Although Johnson (22 carries for 97 yards) wasn’t completely shut down, he was a virtual nonfactor.

“There’s going to be momentum changes,” Jenkins said. “We just had to get that momentum back. And we fought to get it back. When they made their push, we had to find a way to rally and get things done.”

After the Titans’ go-ahead score, Ryan’s defense went into lockdown mode, forcing Tennessee into three consecutive three-and-outs. The Titans managed just one first down in the five drives after that touchdown.

"We played basketball the first couple of weeks,” Scott said of facing the pass-heavy Texans and Patriots in the first two games. “This week it was smash mouth. We’re built for that. We’ll hold it down any way anybody wants to play it.”

Linebacker David Harris, the quiet engine of the Jets defense, made two critical plays down the stretch to seal the win. Harris, who had five tackles, intercepted Collins with the Jets in a Cover-3 defense with 4:22 to go. Then, Harris sacked Collins with a little over two minutes to go to put the Titans in a third –and-long hole they couldn’t overcome.

From Scott to Harris to Jenkins, nobody panicked when the defense gave up 17 consecutive points.